Ordnance recoil apparatus



June 12, 1923.

A. T. DAWSON ET AL ORDNANCE RECOIL APPARATUS Filed July 9. 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 M M M MLW M m4 JAM MW,

1 M :l 0 :fifizng m Q \a u June 12, 1923.

A. T. DAWSON ET AL ORDNANCE RECOIL APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 1919 Patented June 12, 1923.

UNITED STATES 1,458,686 PATENT OFFICE.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON AND GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON, ENGLAND, ASSI G1\TORS TO VICKERS LIMITED, OF WESTMINSTER, ENGLAND.

ORDNANOE RECOIL APPARATUS.

Application filed July 9, 1919. Serial NO. 309,786.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that we, Sir ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON and Sir GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM, both subjects of the King of Great Britain, residing at Vickers House, Broadway, West Ininster, in the county of London, England,

have invented certain new and useful Im provements in or Relating to Ordnance Recoil Apparatus, of which the followingis a specification.

i This invention relates to ordnance recoil apparatus and is particularly applicable to such apparatus in which the recoil or brake cylinder is connected to the gun and the recoil or brake pilton is connected to the gun cradle.

According to thepresent. invention we provide a liquid reservoir or tank for maintaining the proper quantity of liquid in the recoil or brake cylinder in spite of the loss which occurs during the firing of the gun and we connectthis tank to the gun barrel at'a suitable position in front of and above the gun trunnions so that liquid can flow by gravity into the recoil cylinder at all angles of elevation'of the gun, the action of gravity being assisted by the pressure in the tank due to the heating and consequent expansion of the air therein above the liquid by the heat derived from the gun barrel as a result of! firing.' The tankmay be of annular formation "and may'surround the gun barrel at a point a considerable distance in front ofthe trunnions; itmay for convenience he made in two portions (an inner and an outer portion) connected together by screw threads, the inne portion constituting the inner wall of the tank contiguous to the barrel and the outer portion constituting the outer wall and the two end walls of the tank. .The tank maybe provided with keys or lateral projections adapted toslide inthe usual. guides formed in the cradle for the gun keys, thereby steadying the forward part of the gun barrel during recoil and run out.

A hand operated isolating valve may be provided in the connection between the tank and the recoil cylinder forthe purpose of enabling communication between the tank and the cylinder to be cut off whenso desired. V 4 f *Theforward end of the 'recoil cylinder may-be provided with a valve (termed a snifting valve) for the purpose of releasing any air that may accumulate in the front end of the cylinde and interfere with the proper Working of the recoil apparatus. This snifting valve is preferably actuated from a position at the rear. of the gun shield by a rod which operates at its forward end upon the valve and is connected at its rear end to a lever on the gun near the breech end thereof. 1

In order that the said invention may be clearly understood and readily carried into effect we will describe the same more fully with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation with portions in section SllOWiDg a gun provided with a constructional form of our improvements.

Figure 2 is a front elevation of Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a vertical section showing, a window in the tank;

Figure 4 is a vertical section taken approximately on the line 4-4 of Figure 1 and viewed from the front, this figure being drawnto an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a horizontal section taken approximately on the line 5-5 of Figures 1 and 4 and drawn to the same scale as Figure 4, and

Figure 6 is a side'elevation of the rear part of a gun showing the position ofthe lever for operating'the snifting valve.

A is the gun and B is the cradle on which it slides during recoil and run-out. B is the front cap of the cradle to which the rods B 6 of the recoil and. recuperator pistons are connected, the I'B'ZOll and recuperator cylinders B 79 being connected to the usual; lug A on the breech end of the gun. C is the aforesaid liquid reservoir or tank which surrounds the gun barrel at a point a considerable distance in front of the trunnions and is, in the construction shewn, made in two portions, namely an outer portion C and an inner portion C? which are connected together by screw threads, the inner portion C forming the inner wall of the tank contiguous to the barrel and the outer'portion'C forming the outer wall and the two end Walls of the tank. C is one of the lateral keys or projections on the tank which slide in the usual guides formed in the cradle for the keys on the gun barrel. The-inner portion C of the tank is provided with rearwardly projecting keys of which one is shewn at c in Figure 1, these keys the tank.

fitting in keyways or grooves cut in a shoulder a on the gun barrel against which the said inner portion is caused to bear by means of a collar 61 which bears against the for ward part of the inner portion C of the tank and is connected by screw threads to the barrel, this collar being retained in its adjusted position by a grub screw a or otherwise. The outer portion C of the tank is formed at its upper part with a filling hole closed in an air tight manner by a screw threaded plug 0' so as to enable the heating of the contents of the tank, due to the firing of the gun, to exert air pressure on the liquid to assist the action of gravity in replenishing the recoil cylinder with liquid from The rear wall of the said outer portion C of the tank is provided at its lower part with a connection for a longitudinally disposed pipe 0 connect-ed through the hand operated isolating valve 0*, which is shewn as being of the screw-down type, to the rear part of the recoil or brake cyl inder. This isolating valve is provided for the purpose of enabling communication between the tank and the cylinder to be cut off when required, for example in the event of the tank becoming pierced by bullets or becoming otherwise damaged. The said outer portion C of the tank is-also provided with a safetyvalve C and at one side with a window C (Figure through which the level of the liquid can be seen so as to ascertain when the tank should be replenished with liquid. This window is made of plate glass and has behind it a metal plate 0 of dished formation provided with a vertical slot and enameled or painted white on its outer surface so that the liquid which enters between this plate and the window is viewed as a dark mass against a white background.

The part of the outer portion C of the tank beneath the filling hole may be formed with a downwardly projecting lip or flange 0 (Figure 1') which prevents the tank from being filled toa greater height than the lower edge of this flange and so ensures that there shall always be a predetermined air space to allow for expansion of the liquid under the influence of the heat from the barrel. To prevent undue heating of the contents of the tank an asbestos ring may be interposed between the barrel and the inner portion of the tank or an air space may, as shewn in Figure 1, be provided in place of this asbestos ring.

D (Figure 5) is the aforesaid snifting valve. arranged at the forward end of the recoil cylinder 13 in a hole communicating by a passage 01 (Figure 5) with the recoil cylinder for the purpose of releasing any air that may accumulate in the forward end of the cylinder. This accumulation of air results from the leakage of liquid from the cylinder during the firing of the gun.

D is the push rod for liftingthis valve off its seat, the said rod at its forward end being arranged in close proximity to the stem of the valve D and at its rear end being connected to a lever D pivoted on the gun near the breech end thereof and behind the gun shield D WVhat we claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:-

1. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel and the recoil cylinder. of a tank for containing liquid, means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder, means for connecting said tank to the gun barrel, and an isolating valve for cut-ting ofi' communication between said tank and cylinder when required.

2. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel and the recoil cylinder, of a tank for containing liquid, means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder, means for connecting said tank to the gun barrel, a window in said tank and a plate having a white outer surface against which the liquid can be observed through the window as a dark mass.

3. In ordnance, the combination'with the gun. barrel, the gun cradle on which the barrel slides during its recoil and run-out movements, and the recoil cylinder, of a tank for containing liquid, means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder, means for connecting said tank to the barrel and means for slidably supporting saidtank on the gun cradle.

4. In ordnance, the combination with the gun. barrel, the gun cradle, the keys on said barrel sliding in guides in the cradle, and the recoil cylinder, of a tankfor containing liquid, means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder, means for connecting said tank to the gun barrel, and lateral keys on said tank for engaging in the said guides formed in th cradle for the gun keys.

5. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel and the recoil cylinder, of an annular tank'for containing liquid, said tank being composed of an inner portion constituting. the inner wall of the tank and an outer portion constituting the outer wall and the two end walls of the tank, means for attaching said two portions together, means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder and means for connecting said tank to the gun barrel around the latter.

6. In ordnance, the combination with the gun barrel and the recoil cylinder, of an annular tank for containing liquid, said tank being composed of an inner portion constituting the inner wall of the tank and an outer portion constituting the outer wall and the two end walls of the tank, means 'for attaching said two portions together,

means for establishing communication between said tank and said cylinder, keys on said inner portion for engaging with grooves in the gun barrel and a screw threaded collar engaging with screw threads on the barrel for holding said tank in place on the barrel.

7. In ordnance recoil apparatus, the com bination with the recoil cylinder containing liquid, of a valve for releasing to the atmosphere air that accumulates in the forward end'of said cylinder.

8. In ordnance recoil apparatus, the combination with the recoil cylinder containing liquid, of a valve for releasing to the atmosphere, air that accumulates in the forward end of said cylinder, and means for operating said valve from the breech end of the gun.

9. In ordnance having a shield, the combination with the recoil cylinder containing liquid, of a valve for releasing to the atmosphere any air that accumulates in the forward end of said cylinder and means for operating said valve from a position behind the gun shield.

10. In ordnance having a shield, the combinat on with the recoil cylinder containing liquid, a spring controlled lift valve for releasing to the atmosphere air that accumulates in the forward end of said cylinder, a

push rod for lifting said valve off its seat and a lever situated behind the gun shield for operating said rod.

In testimony whereof we aflix our signatures.

ARTHUR TREVOR DAWSON. GEORGE THOMAS BUCKHAM. 

